Los Angeles faces a weekend of weather contradictions, with a mix of dense fog and sunny breaks, accompanied by an intense air quality concern. As reported by the National Weather Service, today's forecast for Los Angeles CA includes areas of dense fog before 10 am, followed by a clearing that should bring mostly sunny skies with a high near 69 degrees. Mild, calm conditions are expected to continue into the nighttime.
Residents must however heed the Air Quality Alert in effect for the Los Angeles area until midnight PST Saturday night, as extensively detailed by the National Weather Service. The alert states, "The South Coast AQMD has extended a mandatory wood-burning ban for residents in the South Coast Air Basin." The ban aims to curb pollution and applies to burning wood, pellets, and manufactured fire logs in any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device.
This air quality mandate includes the densely populated regions of Orange County and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties but lifts above 3000 feet elevation, the Coachella Valley, or the High Desert, as per the NWS Air Quality Alert. Despite the restrictions, there are exceptions for homes solely reliant on wood for heat, low-income households, and homes without natural gas service.
Community members are encouraged by the alert to moderate their activities, especially outdoors. "To protect your health, check current and forecasted air quality levels at www.aqmd.gov or download the mobile app at www.aqmd.gov/mobileapp," advises the alert. When poor air quality is reported, recommendations include limiting intense outdoor activities, staying indoors with doors and windows closed, running air conditioners, or air purifiers, and refraining from devices that intake outside air, like swamp coolers or whole house fans if possible.
The coming days leading up to New Year's are expected to maintain mostly clear skies with temperatures climbing gradually to a high near 77 by Thursday, the NWS noted. However, the contrast between the pleasant weather and the pressing air quality concerns continues to highlight the complex environmental and health landscape that the residents of Los Angeles navigate as another year approaches.
